Class Actions

Shah v LG Chem Ltd., 2018 ONCA 819 Background: In this class action, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants conspired to fix the prices of lithium-ion batteries (“LIBs”) in North America and elsewhere between January 2000 and December 2011. As a result, the plaintiffs paid higher prices f…

Fiscal Year 2018 was a nice year for tippers to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) whistleblower program (“SEC program”), thanks to some misbehaving companies. The SEC made record-breaking payouts of about $168 million to 13 whistleblowers in 2018. The SEC program was initia…

In Rooney v ArcelorMittal[1], the Plaintiffs sought certification of a proposed shareholder class action arising out of the events leading up to the successful takeover of Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation (“BIM”). The key issue in dispute was certification of claims for relief from oppressi…

On November 6, Siskinds represented the Intervener Consumers’ Association of Canada (“CAC”) in the Supreme Court’s hearing of TELUS v. Wellman. The Court’s decision could have major implications on Canadians’ access to the civil justice system. The Wellman appeal arose from a certified class…

Trailing commissions (also known as trailer fees) are intended to compensate mutual fund dealers, such as discount brokers, for investment advice they provide to investors. However, discount brokers are prohibited from providing investment advice under the law. Siskinds LLP is pursuing claim…

Today, capital markets are essentially borderless. Stock exchanges with physical trading floors have become an anachronism. Electronic transactions are the norm. With the click of a button, Canadian investors can buy and sell securities of foreign companies on foreign stock exchanges. But wh…

Government agencies across Canada are struggling to process a growing backlog of claims. Few agencies are immune. In April 2018, an independent review concluded that Canada’s refugee determination system is dealing with a surge in claims that it is ill-equipped to manage. In December 2017, t…

Last year I wrote about a feature of the decision of the English and Wales High Court of Justice in HRH Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell Plc[1], a case where residents of the Niger Delta brought a claim in negligence against Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), an issuer incorporated in England and listed on …

On June 21, 2018, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) released a Status Report on their ongoing investigation into embedded commissions in the mutual fund industry. “Embedded commissions” is the term used to describe the practice of mutual fund managers compensating dealers (and t…